Allan Levitt, along with his sister Marilyn Levitt Yunis, had always felt both the desire and the obligation to give back, and the family had been a loyal supporter of the Cummings Centre over the course of many years. Already a Life Governor of the CJCS Foundation, Allan’s concern for others in the community only grew when he became a senior himself. In 2015, the Centre was seeking to secure new funding to start a Community Mental Health Day Program to provide a structured therapeutic, stimulating, and safe environment for isolated individuals with a diagnosis of mental illness, most of whom had limited social networks and resources.

When Foundation Executive Director Cathy Simons reached out, Allan, along with his sister Marilyn Levitt Yunis, immediately stepped forward. The Rona & Irving Levitt Family Foundation, named after their late parents, designated a gift of $600,000 as an Endowment Fund to benefit the new Day Program, ensuring its support well into the future.

“I thought it was extremely important,” said Allan, “As we get older, we have different needs, different ideas, sometimes we get a little lost in our thinking … I felt that a mental health program could definitely help a lot of people.”

Overseeing the program over the last four years is Rosanna Magnone, Program Manager for Mental Health at the Cummings Centre.

“We were able to design a new creative therapies program, and had wonderful specialists in music therapy, art therapy, and drama therapy,” said Rosanna. Offered two days a week to groups up to 12 people, the program’s schedule – either a morning or an afternoon session – sometimes included chair yoga or other exercises, and always included a nourishing lunch.

The program is offered to clients starting at 55 years of age, with its current oldest participant at 91 – all of whom are followed closely by case managers at the Centre. These clients have a wide range of needs and challenges, whether they are living with schizophrenia or bipolar and other disorders, and sometimes with intellectual disabilities in addition to mental health issues.

With the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020, the staff pivoted quickly to adapt. “Mental health issues have obviously increased,” said Rosanna, “There was a huge impact on the group. But they all know and support one another … when one is down, another one is picking them up.”

A number of the participants were not equipped with a computer or with internet access at home. Once again, Cathy Simons reached out to Allan and Marilyn for help. The family generously purchased fifteen iPads for the personal use of the program’s clients.

“They were very excited,” said Rosanna, “and participation actually increased online, with more people attending more consistently. At the beginning it was a huge learning curve – but they are all pros now.

“We have to be very creative in terms of how we work with clients on zoom,” she continued, “We didn’t want to lose connection to each other or to the Centre. Most importantly, we wanted to break isolation.  Previously, some clients were getting home visits, or they might come into the Centre to meet their case manager. Now, they all get a call every week. And they need it now, more than ever.”

Online, the program has transitioned to various wellness topics, including discussions of coping mechanisms, and themes like hope, gratitude, and resilience. In addition, there is “Creative Zoomers” – a weekly online meetup for museum tours and trivia, as well as a journaling group.

“I have a great team,” said Rosanna, “They are a wonderful group of people – both the team and the clients. I don’t know how the clients would have gone through this pandemic without their case managers and this program.”

Allan and Marilyn’s dedication to the program hasn’t wavered, and the family even provided a special Rosh Hashanah dinner to all the participants last fall.

“I am really impressed by how the program has been handled and by the participation,” said Allan, “You can see that the people in the group are really appreciative to be a part of it. It’s really something special.”

 

To learn more about how your gift to the Cummings Foundation can help support the senior population, please contact Cathy Simons, Executive Director, CJCS Foundation at 514.734.1777 or [email protected].